Affixed to the steering wheel of Charlie Kimball's Indy Lights racecar is a meter as crucial to his performance on the track as his speedometer or fuel gauge.

It's a blood-sugar monitor, and for Kimball, its reading is not a matter of winning or losing, but of life and death.

Kimball has Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition in which the body does not properly produce insulin, the hormone needed to convert sugars into energy.

When Kimball's No. 35 car whips around Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday night in the 100-mile Indy Lights race, Kimball will keep one eye on the track and another on his sugar levels. If they dip too low, Kimball could experience blurred vision or illness, or even pass out.

At 190 mph, that's not an option.

``It's something that I pay attention to and check every now and again, so yes, it's something more than the other drivers have to deal with,'' said Kimball, 24, of Camarillo, Calif. ``But I don't feel like it takes a significant amount of my focus away from driving and winning.''

Two years after his diagnosis, Kimball -- the only licensed racer with Type 1 diabetes in the history of the Indy Racing League -- is just happy to be back behind the wheel.

He had been relatively healthy and was emerging as a force on the European street circuit in early 2007, when he started feeling a little off.

His thoughts were often fuzzy and he had trouble concentrating.

Seeing a doctor for an unrelated ailment, he mentioned his symptoms. Asked if he had experienced recent weight loss, Kimball told the doctor he thought he dropped a few pounds, but wasn't sure how many.

When he hopped on the scale, he was shocked by the result. He had shed 25 pounds in a week, which for a guy who already was slight, was a bad sign.

The medical staff ran blood work, and it found Kimball, an otherwise fit young man, was diabetic.

``One of the things I dealt with first was, `What have I done wrong?' '' Kimball said. ``With it being an autoimmune condition, it wasn't something I had ever done or could have avoided. It's just genetics.''

The news wasn't all bad, however.

Kimball was terrified he would never be allowed to race again. But the doctor told him with the proper care, he should be able to lead a normal life.

But major changes in lifestyle were in order.

In addition to closely watching his diet, Kimball must regularly inject two types of insulin: Levemir, which is long-acting, and NovoLog, which he takes before every meal.

Then there are the complications to his racing routine.

Kimball has a small patch attached to his left biceps, with a wire injected into his arm. That gauges his blood sugar, and it sends the results to the digital reader, which displays his levels as a graph.

Before the race, he checks the results with near-obsession.

``Two hours before the race, an hour-and-a-half. An hour, 45 minutes, 30 minutes, 25, 20, 15, 10,'' Kimball said. ``Right before I put by gloves on. Right before I get in the car. I'm always seeing what the graph is.''

If the levels fall too low while he's in the racecar, Kimball drinks juice from a water bottle, and that brings his blood sugar back to an acceptable place.

It's an exhausting routine, from which Kimball can never take off a day. But he calls the alternative -- no longer being able to race -- unacceptable.

And he hasn't just survived as a driver since his diagnosis. He has thrived.

After learning the news of his illness, Kimball finished in the top three of his next Formula 3 race, and has since returned to the United States to race in the Indy Lights circuit.

Heading into Friday's race, he sits in 10th place in the standings, 210 points behind leader J.R. Hildebrand, and he hopes to make the leap to IndyCar in 2011.

``My goal is to be the first driver with diabetes to win the Indy 500; be the first driver with diabetes to win the [IRL] championship,'' Kimball said.

Kimball's racecar is sponsored by Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that produces the insulin shots he has taken since the day of his diagnosis.

On Wednesday, Kimball visited children at Homestead Hospital's ``speediatric'' care unit and will take part in a walk through downtown Miami for the American Diabetes Association on Saturday.

``I appreciate each lap, each corner, more than I ever have before, because I nearly lost it,'' Kimball said. ``I nearly had it taken away from me by my health and something I never saw coming.''